Team Malaysia

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Khairy Wants FAM To Monitor Ticket Touts

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- Youth and Sports Minister Khairy
Jamaluddin wants the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to clarify
how 15,000 tickets were sold out just 15 minutes after the counters
opened at the Shah Alam Stadium.

"The FAM need to explain whether the tickets were snapped up by fans due
to the high demand for tickets or whether the tickets were bought in
'bulk' by ticket touts," he told reporters after opening the Asean
Conference on Sports For All (ACOS 2013), here, Wednesday.

The FAM must keep tab on ticket touts who pounce on big occasions like
the Malaysia Cup final to purchase tickets in 'bulk' and sell them off
for a profit.

"I do not want those allocated tickets in big quantity, selling it to
ticket touts later," he said when commenting on reports that the 15,000
tickets for the Malaysia Cup final between Kelantan and Pahang on Sunday
were sold out just 15 minutes after the counters had opened at the Shah
Alam Stadium, venue for the final, starting 9am.

Khairy said since the demand for tickets from fans and supporters of
Kelantan and Pahang was high, the FAM would need to control and monitor
the sale of tickets by ticket touts.

"If in the United Kingdom, the person who sells tickets illegally and
the person who buys tickets sold illegally can be detained and charged
in court," said Khairy.

On Monday, the FAM Local Competitions Committee chairman Datuk Afandi
Hamzah had said 75,000 tickets would be sold for the Malaysia Cup final
between Kelantan and Pahang on Nov 3, at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Kelantan and Pahang would receive 30,000 tickets each while the balance 15,000 will be sold at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Speaking of the two-day ACOS 2013, Khairy said it was attended by 145 participants, including 30 from Asean countries.

Meanwhile, in Kuantan, the Pahang Football Association secretary-general
Fuzzeimi Ibrahim said all 30,500 tickets allocated to Pahang were sold
out within three hours, when counters were opened at the Darul Makmur
Stadium.

He added that fans who were not able to secure a ticket for the final
would be able to watch the match live on a big screen that would be
installed at the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) in Kuantan, on
Sunday.